The overall objective of this work is to elucidate the pathway and mechanisms involved in the feeding-induced rhythmicity in digestive-absorptive function and to gain further understanding of the regulation of gastrointestinal function and the nature of biorhythms. In the coming year we plan to evaluate the potential role of vagal innervation in the mediation of the feeding cue, the potential inability of the feeding schedule to cue these functional rhythms in the obese Zucker rat, and the cause of the altered functional rhythms in the mature rat on a restricted feeding regime.